NBL on track to break a 40 year record!

21/12/2018

As the NBL charge towards their closest season in over 40 years the attendances at games this year are at an all-time high.

Average attendances have increased by four per cent with a total attendance of 350,274 for the first half of the 2018/19 Hungry Jack’s NBL Season. The NBL is on track to break last season’s all-time record attendance.

Owner of the league and the man who’s been credited with turning the fortunes of the NBL around, Larry Kestleman spoke to Matt Granland and James Willis on Macquarie Sports Radio says he’s very proud of the product the league has turned into “We’ve been building this business of basketball and NBL in particular in Australia for a number of years and it’s bearing fruit which we absolutely love. We know we have a great product… People are turning out in droves.

The teams and team owners have put in a lot of hard work and effort to get to this point. Sometimes it’s just nice to step back and have a look in the crowd and see the happy faces. They love the product and entertainment. That’s what basketball is. We’re a picky bunch now, we’ve got a lot of choices around, you get a little bit of basketball win lose or draw with your family and have a great time.”

Kestleman took over ownership of Melbourne United initially before stepping up to take charge of the league overall. The game of basketball has always been keenly participated at junior level and now it’s about making the product at the top level even more appealing and continue to grow the crowd numbers “For me it’s not a competition, we want to be the best product. For me it’s about do we feel that we’re a great product in the summer? We absolutely do. We want to be the best form of entertainment and I truly believe that we are. Moreso I actually think we’ve now created a league that’s only second to the NBA around the world, that’s what the NBL is.” said Kestleman

The face of basketball is the great Andrew Gaze. Former Melbourne Tiger is now the coach of the Sydney Kings and the attendances at Sydney Kings home games have jumped by 32% and a total of 102,551 fans have watched Kings games across Australia during the first nine rounds. The aura of Andrew Gaze isn’t lost on Kestleman “He is the face of basketball for many many years.. It’s great, he’s absolutely great for the game and thrilled that he’s having success with them (Sydney Kings).”